Errant autos to be smoked out of archaic cover

Errant autos to be smoked out of archaic cover
RTO Officials Resort To Fitness Checks To Overcome Lenient Law On Pollution
The Times of India

Bangalore: Autorickshaws emitting excessive smoke will be off the roads. That is final.

Though disarmed by the higher pollution limit allowed by Indian law, transport authorities are out to corner polluting vehicles. In a firstof-its-kind exercise, 132 such autorickshaws have been stripped of their fitness certificate, forcing them off the roads.

Here is what happens: Detecting ‘oversmoking’ autorickshaws, RTO personnel call in a squad who carry out the mandatory pollution tests. Most of these autorickshaws do not carry a pollution-under-control certificate. The squad checks the autorickshaw for carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions. Since permissible limits in India are as high as to accommodate these pollutants, they cannot be booked under pollution control rules. The RTO therefore subjects the autorickshaw to fitness checks and cancels the fitness certificate.

The permissible emission level for autorickshaws manufactured before March 2000 is 4.5 per cent carbon monoxide and 9,000 hydrocarbon ppm. Compare it with the limits for four-wheelers compliant with Bharat stage-2, which is 0.5 carbon monoxide and 750 hydrocarbon in ppm.

The autorickshaws’ emission levels are more than nine times higher, notwithstanding their engine capacities 10 times less than most four-wheelers. The archaic pollution rules have to be made stringent, point out transport department officers.

Transport commissioner Om Prakash said, “3,761 autorickshaws were detected emitting excessive smoke. When subjected to pollution test, their levels were strangely discovered to be within the maximum permissible pollution limits in spite of the thick smoke. The transport department said they felt helpless because the law was not helping the officials. We looked for a suitable remedy — stripping them of their fitness certificates. We realised that if we levied fines, these autos paid it and were back on the roads.’’

But the battle is far from over. Many of these autorickshaws ply in the night to evade checks. The unofficial estimate is that about 10,000 autorickshaws emit excessive smoke. About 70,000 autos in Bangalore run on a mix of naphtha, kerosene or solvents used in paint industry, which is illegal. They also use spurious lubricating oils.

If you site an excess of black smoke, call —23376039/26630989.